Ruth T. Joel

Date of Birth

July 18, 1933

Date of Death

January 11, 2018

Ruth Thomas Joel – Dobbs Ferry, NY/ Santa Barbara, CA – passed away peacefully on January 11, 2018, of Alzheimer’s disease. Born July 18, 1933 in Burlington, Vermont, Ruth attended Brandeis University. After graduating college and traveling around Europe she moved to New York City where she joined the Dessoff Choirs. There she met her beloved husband of thirty-four years, Bert Joel, with whom she raised daughters Sharon and Adele in Dobbs Ferry.

Ruth worked as a librarian and practiced yoga and meditation. Throughout their lives Ruth and Bert enjoyed classical and folk concerts, and took many camping trips to National Parks. Friends remember Ruth for her kind nature, outgoing personality and hearty laughter.

After being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Ruth moved to Santa Barbara to live with daughter Adele and son-in-law Lee Menichella. In her final year Ruth lived at Heritage House, a memory care facility in Santa Barbara. Widowed in 1991, Ruth is survived by daughters Sharon and Adele and grandson Stefan Menichella; also by her brother George Thomas of Burlingame, CA, and her sister Esther Scharfman of Lexington, MA. Her brother Herman Thomas of Burlington, Vermont, died in 2015. A celebration will be held at Heritage House on Monday, January 22 at 11:00 a.m. Donations to Assisted Home Health and Hospice Foundation or Threshold Choir would be appreciated.

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